Swiss banks introduce commissions on blocked Russian assets

Some major Swiss banks are charging commissions on frozen assets of Russians, sources told Vedomosti. One of the interlocutors knows a case of accruing commissions for years in advance.

“The idea is that there is an account, it needs to be serviced, no matter that a person cannot use the service, in fact it is still provided,” a source told the newspaper. Two other sources have heard of commissions being added, but not for years to come.

PostFinance told Vedomosti that it does not charge commissions on blocked assets. Raiffeisen did not disclose information on "how business relationships affected by anti-Russian sanctions are handled" due to confidentiality. Julius Baer declined to comment, while UBS, Zurich Cantonal Bank, Vontobel and Pictet Group did not respond to inquiries.

Switzerland has frozen Russian assets worth 7.7 billion Swiss francs ($8.8 billion). In December 2022, assets worth 7.5 billion francs were blocked. Over the past 12 months, 300 people and 100 companies have been added to the sanctions list.